The Osmium Court was ruled by a King who sired many broods of children,[2] notably Aurash, Sathona, and Xi Ro.[2]Taox, a neutered Mother[3] (presumably the King's own mother) designed great engines to navigate the treacherous seas of Fundament; when they were active everyone needed to stay far from the edge or exercise extreme caution.[2] It possessed a lightning farm, presumably to generate power for the engines,[2] and an orrery to study the movements of Fundament's fifty-two moons.[3]

The Osmium Court was betrayed by Taox—who feared both that her King was abandoning his people and that his daughters were unfit to govern—to the rival Helium Drinkers and Court.[3] It was later retaken by the Worm-empowered Hive led by Auryx and his sisters,[4] and presumably destroyed and then abandoned when they ascended to attack the Ammonite civilization.[5][6]

The proto-Hive homeworld may have been one of the moons of Fundament, or at least local to the same planetary system. If Aurash is to be believed, the proto-Hive deliberately manipulated their world to crash in order to hide.[1]